Piglet (Winnie-the-Pooh character)
Piglet is an anthropomorphic stuffed piglet belonging to Christopher Robin that first appeared in Disney's 1968 animated short Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day. He is the timid and phobic best friend of Winnie the Pooh. Background Piglet is shown to live in a large home in a beech tree. According to Piglet, the home once belonged to his grandfather, who was named "Trespassers William." Though he apparently gives the home to Owl and moves in with Pooh at the end of Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, other media depict Piglet as still residing in his grandfather's home. Piglet has great pride in his house, being somewhat of a homebody—when not with Pooh, he spends most of his time either cleaning or decorating his home. Like most of the characters, Piglet is named after his own species. Despite this, however, he is not an actual child, as Roo has been suggested to be the only juvenile member of the gang. Development Although featured in every Disney interpretation of Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet was originally omitted by Disney in the first Pooh film, Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree. According to the film's director, Wolfgang Reitherman, Piglet was replaced by Gopher, which was thought to have a more "folksy, all-American, grass-roots image." Piglet did make a brief appearance in the short's introductory song, albeit with a notably different design. The same prototypical version of Piglet appeared with a more expandee role in Winnie the Pooh: A Tight Squeeze, a Little Golden Book adaptation of Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree that was released in 1964. Personality Mostly due to his small size and flimsiness, Piglet is an incredibly timid, fragile, and insecure animal. He apparently suffers from anxiety and is often seen cowering in fear in even the tamest moments. Piglet also has a speech impediment that causes him to stutter. Though Pooh and the others don't seem to mind Piglet's phobias and happily brings him along and/or protects him through every adventure, Piglet is noticeably embarrassed and ashamed of his dominate cowardliness, and many stories have revolved around him making attempts to overcome his fears. When it comes to adventuring, Piglet is somewhat of a reluctant hero, as he typically likes to avoid any potential danger by staying home, only to tag along out of fear of disappointing his friends. Though he's far from the bravest animal, he has successfully come through for his friends on numerous occasions. This is mostly due to the fact that Piglet is surprisingly crafty and harbors impressive physical strength. He's also rather creative and inventive, being able to create contraptions out of whatever is around him, to use to his and his friends' advantage. When the situation truly calls for it, Piglet is a reliable member of the team, and has been pivotal to solving their problems on various occasions throughout the franchise (some notable examples being Boo to You Too! Winnie the Pooh and Piglet's Big Movie). Physical appearance Piglet is pink all over, with darker pink ears. He is usually seen in a pink, striped jumper. He sometimes wears a scarf, though not terribly often. He is considered to be a "very small animal" due to him being the smallest (other than Roo) out of the friends. Film appearances ''The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Piglet first appears in the short ''Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day. Piglet is seen sweeping his lawn until a strong wind blows him away. Piglet is rescued by Pooh, who holds him by the thread of Piglet's scarf. Piglet later appears during the flood. He is trapped in his home due to the flood, and so he sends out a message for help. Meanwhile, he begins floating away on the chair he is on. Christopher Robin receives the message, and sends Owl to find Piglet. Piglet is almost killed by a massive waterfall but luckily falls into Pooh's honey pot. Piglet and Pooh finally arrive at Christopher Robin's home, where Pooh is credited with Piglet's rescue. After the flood, Eeyore mistakenly believes Piglet's home to be Owl's new home, as Owl had lost his due to the strong winds. Instead of correcting Eeyore, Piglet gives up his home for Owl. Christopher then throws a hero party in honor of Pooh who saved Piglet using his honey pot and Piglet for giving Owl a new home. Piglet then goes on to live with Pooh. Piglet later appears in the segment Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too. He goes with Pooh and Rabbit during the plan to lose Tigger. Piglet, Pooh, and Rabbit become lost themselves. When Rabbit wanders off, Piglet follows Pooh home. Later on, Piglet and Pooh are out walking, when they discover Tigger and Roo stuck in a tree. Piglet and Pooh get Christopher Robin's help in getting them down. Later, Piglet is seen bouncing alongside the others. ''Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore Piglet first appears at the Pooh Sticks Bridge, playing the game with Pooh, Rabbit and Roo. In during which, they find Eeyore lazily drifting along the river. Eeyore explains that he was bounced into the water by Tigger. Beyond that, Eeyore appears to be even more gloomy than usual, much to the confusion of his friends. Pooh visits Eeyore and learns that it's his birthday. He returns home and delivers the news to Piglet, and the two plan to get Eeyore presents. Piglet settles on a red balloon, but on the way to Eeyore's Gloomy Place, Piglet accidentally pops his balloon. He goes to Eeyore's home, anyway, and presents the popped balloon, despite being riddled with guilt. Despite being popped, Eeyore loves the balloon, especially for its color. Just then, Pooh arrives with an empty honey pot, which Eeyore happily uses as a place to store his balloon. Pooh's Grand Adventure Piglet first appears at his house after Christopher Robin's disappearance. He is seen climbing his tree, and explains to Pooh that he's following Christopher Robin's advice by trying to conquer his fears—in this case, his fear of heights. Later on, Piglet and the others discover from Owl that Christopher Robin is being held captive by a vicious dinosaur-like monster in an ominous cave known as "skull". A quest to find him ensues, which Piglet fearfully joins. In one particular scene, Piglet and the others come across a scenic valley. As Piglet takes in the area, he is lifted into the air by a kaleidoscope of butterflies. Pooh tries to coach Piglet to safety, but to no avail. Piglet is nevertheless rescued, but ashamed of himself for not being able to handle the situation better. When the team arrives to Christopher Robin's supposed location ("Skull"), Pigelt must help Tigger in getting the rest of their friends from one point to another. Piglet is hesitant, as this would require bouncing with Tigger across a deep chasm, but he nevertheless succeeds in his mission, proving he's braver than he believed. They later find out that Christopher Robin is really at school not skull and Owl was only joking. With the misunderstanding that Owl had created cleared, they all return to the Hundred Acre Wood. The Tigger Movie Piglet is first seen at home attempting to prepare for the harsh winter heading his way. He gets a surprise visit from Tigger, who invites Piglet to go bouncing. Piglet declines, but Tigger tries to help him prepare for winter by throwing Piglet's favorite chair into the fireplace, much to Piglet's dismay. Piglet later joins Rabbit's pulley system to remove a boulder from Eeyore's home. The plan is ruined, accidentally, by Tigger. When Rabbit reprimands Tigger on his obsession with bouncing, the rest of the group tries to kindly explain that they can't join Tigger in his bouncing session on account of not being tiggers, themselves.—Piglet stutters constantly, afraid to reveal his thoughts on the situation. In response, Piglet follows Pooh and Eeyore to search for Tigger's real family in hopes of cheering him up. After failed attempts, however, Pooh and the others get the idea to write a note to Tigger, in an attempt to give him the familial love he craves. Piglet's contribution was advising Tigger to stay safe and sound. Unfortunately, Tigger believes the note was sent to him by actual tiggers, planning to visit. After learning this, Piglet and the others disguise themselves as tiggers and visits Tigger's house to avoid disappointing him. The group is eventually exposed, however, and Tigger leaves in fury to search for his ''real family. Piglet and the others convince Rabbit to lead a search party for Tigger, just as the harsh winter reaches its peak. After an avalanche, Piglet and his friends reveal themselves to be the originators of the letter, and declare themselves as his true family, despite not being tiggers. A grateful Tigger accepts his newfound family, and as a token of appreciation, he bestows months worth of firewood to Piglet. ''Piglet's Big Movie Piglet stars his film as the titular protagonist. Piglet watches his friends set up a big plan to gather some honey. Piglet tries to join but his friends don't need him. Their plan becomes a disaster as the bees begin to attack. Using a fake hive, Piglet bottles up the bees but gets no credit as his friends didn't see anything happen, even when Piglet tries to tell them. Saddened, Piglet goes off wishing he was more appreciated. After gaining enough confidence to see his friends again he finds that they are gone. Piglet's friends have gone out thinking Piglet ran away and uses his scrapbook to find him. They learn Piglet is responsible for most of the great things that occurred in the woods. He saved Roo who was nearly swept away by a river. Piglet was also the first one to meet and greet the newly moved in Kanga and Roo as well as create a beautiful home for his friend Eeyore. Despite all his work he never gained any credit and no one ever noticed it was all his doing, which leaves his friends feeling guilty and ashamed. Pooh Bear tries to receive Piglet's scrapbook for a log over a waterfall and nearly falls to his death but rescued by Piglet. Piglet is given a party and so honored that he tears up finally seeing his friends realize his great accomplishments. Pooh's Heffalump Movie Piglet panics after a loud and unfamiliar noise awakens him and the other residents of the Hundred Acre Woods. He's horrified to learn that noise was from a longtime enemy, Heffalumps. Piglet reluctantly joins the friends on a quest to capture the creature and even says he wishes to be Roo, who cannot join the quest because it is too dangerous. To make sure he doesn't get lost, Piglet leaves a trail of jellybeans, but they are eaten by Pooh Bear. After rejoining Rabbit and Tigger, Piglet claims to see a Heffalump and rushes to safety with his friends. The gang finds evidence that a Heffalump has been in their own homes and begins to panic until Rabbit advises the idea to create traps. Piglet assists and is rather calm to find out a mother Heffalump was searching for her baby. Piglet is finally relaxed and is the first to become friends with the gang's former enemies. Piglet also appears in ''Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie where he tries to help Lumpy understand the fact that Halloween is a fun adventurous holiday. In the middle of the film, the story of "Winnie the Pooh Boo to You Too" is retold by Roo to Lumpy to help him find braveness in his heart, believing if Piglet can conquer his fears so can Lumpy. ''Winnie the Pooh While placing a picture of him and Pooh on the wall, Piglet receives a message informing him of a meeting to take place. At the meeting, Piglet and his friends learn that poor Eeyore has lost his tail again and that a reward (honey) shall be given for its recovery. Piglet suggests using their balloon "friend" but Eeyore's weight is unable to keep the balloon from floating up and carrying him along with it. Later on, Piglet and his friends are seen at Owl's house, presenting the latter with the honey reward for using a chalkboard as Eeyore's new tail. Just then, Pooh arrives with an alert message from Christopher Robin. According to Owl, the boy has been captured by a creature known as The Backson. To save their friend, the gang sets out on a hunt for the beast. While Rabbit, Kanga, Owl, and Roo set bait trails, Pooh and Piglet begin to set traps. Later on, Pooh falls into a pit trap. In a rescue attempt, Rabbit, Eeyore, Owl, Kanga, and Roo become trapped as well. Piglet is left above ground and is told by Rabbit to find something to free them. Piglet finds a rope but when Rabbit tells him to save them all, Piglet cuts the rope into individual pieces. With a now useless rope, Piglet is told to go over to Christopher Robin's house to find some more rope. Reluctantly, Piglet sets off and runs into what he believes to be a Backson. However, it was merely Tigger in a Backson costume but Piglet was too afraid to notice. Piglet accidentally falls into the pit as well, with Tigger falling behind. Inside, Pooh uses the textbook letters Piglet accidentally knocked down to form a latter. After their freed, Christopher Robin arrives and explains that he was only at school for the day. While at Owl's house, Pooh finally finds Eeyore's tail and a massive jar of honey is rewarded by Piglet in the others. Christopher Robin Piglet appears in the live-action film centering an adult Christopher Robin. His appearance is closer to that of his original E.H. Shepard design, sporting a green jumpsuit (instead of his traditional pink), with three black buttons, and a red scarf around his neck. When Pooh fears that adulthood has caused Christopher Robin to lose his way, Piglet travels to London alongside Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore to save their friend. Other films In the educational short, ''Winnie the Pooh Discovers the Seasons, Piglet and Pooh learn about the seasons together, courtesy of Rabbit and Owl. Piglet makes his brief cameo appearance in Disney's (Touchstone's) 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit during the final scene. His shadow is seen hanging on a train right before all the toon character run out of Toon Town and into the real world to have a look at Judge Doom's dead body. Television appearances ''Welcome to Pooh Corner In the live-action series, Piglet and the other characters were portrayed by actors in puppet suits. Unlike previous appearances, Piglet was always seen wearing a scarf (referred to as a muffer by the narrator). The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Piglet is one of the main characters in the TV series, appearing in almost every episode. He has several episodes that revolve around him, most of which center his timidity or his small size. In the episode "The Piglet Who Would Be King", a family portrait of Piglet with his parents can be seen. In "There's No Camp Like Home", Piglet encounters and forms a friendship with a young heffalump named Junior, proving that Heffalumps are not the vicious creatures that legend makes them out to be. This concept and basic storyline would later be recycled for ''Pooh's Heffalump Movie, with Piglet's role instead going to Roo. Perhaps most notably, Piglet was the focus of the television special Boo to You Too! Winnie the Pooh, where he struggles to overcome his crippling fear of Halloween so that he can finally enjoy the holiday with his friends; he starts by creating an extremely elaborate costume. Throughout the night, however, suspicions that creatures known as the "Spookables" are haunting the Hundred Acre Woods begin to spread, putting everyone into panic. When Piglet believes the monsters are attacking Pooh, Piglet uses his costume to "defeat" them, thus conquering his fear of Halloween. ''The Book of Pooh Piglet was a major character in the series, portrayed by an articulated puppet like the rest of the cast. Several episodes revolve around Piglet, such as "Biglet", where Piglet tires of being the smallest animal, "The Words Are Out", where Piglet wakes up with a case of laryngitis, and "Bravehat", where Piglet wears a specific hat in hopes of it making him braver. House of Mouse Piglet made a few cameos in the series. Thought typically silent, he's had a few speaking roles, and is once again voiced by John Fielder. In the episode "Suddenly Hades" Piglet is briefly seen being blown away by the wind from "Blustery Day" unleashed by Pete. In "Turkey Day," Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore had just finished their evening meal having Piglet comment that he's stuffed. Right after a turkey is seen running away from Gus Goose having Eeyore reply "Not as stuffed as he's gonna be." In one episode, Mickey anounces that the will refrain from making "poo jokes", to which Piglet responds in the audience with, "But, Pooh's funny!" In "Ask Von Drake", Piglet is among the Disney characters accounted for during Ludwig Von Drake's musical number. Piglet also appears in the spin-off films. In ''Mickey's House of Villains, he is first seen entering the club alongside other characters (mostly villains) on Halloween night. Later in, Piglet and Pooh are seen cowering in fear as the Disney villains take over the club during "It's Our House Now". In Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse, Piglet is amongst the crowd of characters snowed in the club on Christmas Eve. ''My Friends Tigger & Pooh Piglet played a supporting role in the computer-animated series. He was shown to be the Super Sleuths' closest ally and had many mysteries and problems for them to solve. On one occasion, Piglet teamed up with Rabbit and Eeyore to form their own sleuthing team known as the "New Super Sleuths". The series also marks the first time Piglet's voice was provided by Travis Oates. Doc McStuffins Piglet appears in a special ''Doc McStuffins episode, "Into the Hundred Acre Wood!". When Pooh goes missing, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore go out to find him. They run into Dottie McStuffins and her anthropormorphic toys. Piglet becomes particularly fond of Doc's stuffed lamb, Lambie, and her cuddles. Video games ''Kingdom Hearts'' series Piglet is a recurring character in the series, appearing in Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts II. In the original Kingdom Hearts, when Sora entered Winnie the Pooh's storybook, he found that all of Pooh's friends had disappeared from the story. To help, Sora ventured to other worlds and collected pages of Pooh's story. Piglet was on the first page Sora found. As Sora approached Piglet to talk with him, Piglet ran away in shock, having been intimidated by Sora's stature. However, Sora mentioned that he was friends with Pooh, which coaxed Piglet from his hiding place. When Pooh arrived, Piglet revealed that he had brought Pooh a balloon. Piglet later appeared throughout the other pages Sora collected, joining in the escapades on each page. When Sora finally put the final page into the book, Piglet was very curious as to why Sora had to leave, as none of the Hundred Acre Wood residents have any knowledge of the world outside of the pages they live in. Sora simply explained that he had to go find his friends, which Piglet understood, wishing Sora luck and extending an invitation for him to return to the Hundred Acre Wood soon. In Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, a facsimile of Piglet created by Naminé was featured in this game as one of Sora's memories. In Kingdom Hearts II, the Heartless scattered the pages of Pooh's book across the worlds, damaging Pooh's memories. Sora found Piglet near his house, being blown about by the blustery winds of the day. Piglet was very distressed to realize that Pooh did not remember who he was. When another strong gust of wind swept Piglet away, Pooh and Sora ride the wind as well in the hopes of saving Piglet, which they eventually did; the event jogged a memory in Pooh's brain, and he finally remembered who Piglet was. Piglet appeared in other areas of Pooh's book to help bring back more of Pooh's memories, which culminated in an adventurous game of hide-and-seek where Piglet had to face his fears and enter the depths of the Spooky Cave. Piglet was sad to see Sora leave at the end of their adventures, but was thankful to him for helping bring Pooh's memories back. ''Kinect Disneyland Adventures Piglet appears as a meet-and-greet character near the Splash Mountain queue area in Critter Country. He gives the player a few tasks, including helping to set a trap for a Woozle, taking pictures for Christopher Robin's picture book and assisting in preparations for Pooh's birthday party. He also plays a role in the ''Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh mini-game. Disney Parks Piglet can be found at the Disney theme parks for meet and greets. He appears less frequently than Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore, but he is more common than the rarely-seen Rabbit. He was originally seen in 1966 as a small puppet in Rabbit's arms. Disneyland Resort Piglet has not been known to meet in Disneyland, though lately people have found him randomly at Critter Country or Minnie's Breakfast at the Plaza Inn, but this is very rare. Walt Disney World For meet-and-greets, Piglet can be occasionally found at the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom. During the Halloween season, he can be spotted during Mickey's Boo-to-You Halloween Parade. He is also available for meet-and-greets during the Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party seasonal event. Piglet also appeared as part of Mickey's band, playing a harmonica in Mickey Mouse Revue. Tokyo Disney Resort In Japan, Piglet can be spotted several times in the Pooh's Hunny Hunt attraction. He can sometimes be found for meet-and-greets at the Crystal Palace. ''The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Piglet appears in the dark ride as an audio-animatronic in Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom. Piglet is seen being blown away by the wind, why Tigger attempting to rescue him. Piglet is seen again attending Pooh's birthday party. Relationships Winnie the Pooh Pooh and Piglet are very inseparable as they are best friends. Whenever they go on an adventure, Piglet always follows Pooh. Piglet always takes Pooh's side no matter how silly Pooh is being. Piglet even risked his life during a wind storm to save Pooh. His worst fear is that all his friends will be lost forever. In "Good-bye Mr. Pooh" when Pooh comes back from being gone, he finds Eeyore living in his house. Piglet graciously lets Pooh live with him until they can convince Eeyore to give Pooh back his house, and previous to that in ''Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, when Owl temporarily lives at Piglet’s house, Pooh lets Piglet stay with him for the time being. Tigger Tigger is very fond of Piglet. In an episode of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Piglet saves Tigger when he was "drowning", and Tigger devotes himself to be there for Piglet. Piglet begins to feel smothered and has a talk with Tigger. Tigger agrees to give Piglet some space. In Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin, Tigger saves Piglet from falling to the ground from a tree. Later in the film, Piglet rides Tigger to the top of a cliff. In The Tigger Movie, Piglet feels sympathy for Tigger. But Piglet often get annoyed when Tigger messes up his poems and gets scared of his scary stories. Eeyore Eeyore often accompanies Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit, and Tigger on their journey. In an episode of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, "Donkey for a Day" everyone mistakenly thinks Eeyore is depressed when they see him sitting alone on a cliff. Later, Piglet goes to talk to him about it, but Eeyore says that he wasn’t sad at all. Instead, he comes to the cliff when he is happy, and he shows Piglet a game he plays with the clouds. In Pooh's Grand Adventure, Piglet hugs Eeyore. He also falls on top of Eeyore, later sits on Eeyore's buttocks the other way in a comedic scene. In The Tigger Movie, Piglet holds on to Eeyore's tail and asks if he’s okay. He also holds on to Eeyore during the avalanche. Kanga In Piglet's Big Movie, when Piglet first met Kanga, he and his friends were very scared of her at first. They "kidnapped" Roo (Roo thinking they're just playing) and have Piglet pretend to be Roo, which Kanga sees past through, and she pretends not to know. Kanga gives Piglet a bath and bounce medicine. After having her fun, she says "Two more things. A cookie, and a kiss, Piglet." Piglet and Kanga soon became good friends. Piglet sometimes goes with Pooh and Tigger to eat breakfast at her house. Piglet also pretended to be Roo on one occasion, when Roo and Tigger want to keep playing and prevent Roo from getting a bath. Kanga once again saw past that and as punishment, gives Piglet a bath. She also gives Roo and Tigger a bath when they get stuck in a sticky situation (literally). Roo Piglet and Roo get along very well. Piglet is somewhat protective of him, as are other the other citizens of the Hundred Acre Wood. Piglet pretends to be Roo twice, which Kanga sees past both times for a few schemes. Pooh, Piglet, and Tigger often go to Kanga and Roo's house for breakfast. Rabbit Rabbit and Piglet are very good friends. Rabbit can sometimes dupe Piglet into being his personal assistant. Rabbit is very protective of Piglet due to his size. But sometimes Rabbit finds Piglet's fearfulness very annyoing at times but he manages to accept it as seen in Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year. Gallery Trivia *In one episode, Piglet can clearly be seen eating ham, which would make him a cannibal. Though on the other hand, Piglet is a actually a toy pig, so this isn't consider cannibalism. *In the original books, Piglet's jumpsuit was green, but in the Disney productions, it's dark pink. At theme parks, it's pink and white striped. *Piglet may possess a small degree of super strength as he is able to hold Pooh using only one hand seen in Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin. *The sign in front of Piglet's house bears his great grandfather's name and is a pun on signs people put in front of private property - Trespassers will be prosecuted. *A constant misbelief is that Piglet prevented the release of Pooh cartoons in the Middle East due to the idea of a talking pig being anathema. This has been disproven as films such as Piglet's Big Movie has been released in Egypt, an Islamic nation, without incident. *In "Boo to You" and in some episodes of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Piglet would make a sound whenever he landed on the ground. The noise hasn't been used since. References External links * *Piglet at Disney Character Central *Media related to Piglet at Wikimedia Commons ru:Хрюня